The INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier research centre, located in Laval, close to Montreal (Canada), recently joined the Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP) which now has 29 member institutions on five continents. The INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier research centre is the first North American institution to join the RIIP network.

Press release
Paris, june 24, 2005

The Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur’s chief mission is to contribute to the fight against infectious diseases on a global scale, through research, training, and epidemiological monitoring of viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections that threaten world health. The INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier will bring to the table its expertise in severe respiratory diseases such as SARS and influenza, as well as in other pathologies such as AIDS, hepatitis C, salmonella and leishmaniasis. Joining the RIIP network reaffirms the strength of the centre’s research teams and its excellent international reputation.

In support of research on neglected diseases
Keenly aware of the huge problem presented by neglected diseases, INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier has demonstrated its solidarity by joining Institut Pasteur in its appeal to governments around the world to correct the fatal imbalance for neglected diseases, as put forth by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) on June 8, 2005. www.researchappeal.org/index.php

Each day, 35,000 people die of a neglected disease and, over the last 25 years, only 1% of some 1,400 recognized drugs addressed these diseases. In the face of an acute need for action, INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier has added its voice to those of all the signatories of the appeal, which calls for developed countries to invest more dollars in order to stimulate R&D for neglected diseases. s.

Two institutions with similar callings
The INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier research centre was created in 1998 when Institut Armand-Frappier, named after its founder and created in 1938 on the Pasteur model, joined forces with Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS). Today, the centre’s activities include research and training in human, animal and environmental health, including microbiology, immunology, epidemiology and biotechnology. The centre has approximately 150 employees, including some fifty professor-researchers, as well as 200 students and postdoctoral fellows. www.iaf.inrs.ca

Founded in 1887, Institut Pasteur is a private, not-for-profit foundation dedicated to biomedical research, public health, and teaching. Close to 2,600 people work on its campus in Paris, where a large portion of the institute’s research activities are devoted to infectious diseases. The Paris office is the heart of the international Pasteur network, which is comprised of 29 Pasteur or associated institutions spread out on all five continents and bringing together more than 9,000 people.
Contact presse :
INRS
Gisèle Bolduc
418.654.3817 - gisele.bolduc@adm.inrs.ca
Christine Lussier
514.985-8309 - christine.lussier@cossette.com